Approaching AI research and its impact from all angles
Philipp Hacker
“AI in Society signifies our collective commitment to understanding and guiding the relationship between emerging technologies and the public interest.”
Every age has its defining topic, and for our age, it is AI. This increasingly prevalent technology is driving breakthroughs in science and transformations in business, but it is also raising more fundamental questions about society, the state, and our lives.
As one of the first topics within OUP’s digital-first scholarly research collection, Oxford Intersections, AI in Society investigates AI’s pervasive influence on our economic, legal, personal, and cultural spheres. It takes a unique format, in which contributors from various disciplines collaborate to chart both the promises and societal challenges of AI, with particular attention to generative AI models and their global impact. From my perspective as its General Editor, AI in Society aims to serve as a reliable reference point for ongoing debates on how to align technological innovation with fundamental rights and societal values.
Our approach to interdisciplinary research
Today’s rapidly changing AI landscape calls for a framework and a scholarship that captures not only technological developments but also the broad societal questions that arise. We provide this structure through curated research from a global network of experts. In doing so, AI in Society transcends conventional accounts that are frequently confined to Europe or North America, offering a more balanced portrayal of how AI is shaping the world, including the Majority World. This project’s adaptive digital format will be updated with new commissioned contributions over the coming years to ensure its enduring relevance in discussions about AI governance, impact, and policy.
AI in Society, therefore, signifies our collective commitment to understanding and guiding the relationship between emerging technologies and the public interest. As we continue to expand this project, we’ll be equipped to address novel challenges and incorporate the latest academic insights.
Demonstrating the breadth of AI research
Each of AI in Society’s eleven sections illuminates a critical dimension of AI’s societal impact. Collectively, they treat AI as a phenomenon whose diverse applications influence all facets of our shared future, and merit debate and critique from a broad and interlocking range of perspectives.
Exploring AI’s relationship with human identity and consciousness, prompting reflection on rights and responsibilities.
Investigating AI’s climate effects and its role in climate action, resource management, and the design of sustainable spaces.
Considering how AI tools influence medicine and healthcare, emotional support, psychological care, and the pursuit of a fulfilling life.
Examining adaptive learning and the evolving pedagogy shaped by AI technologies, while weighing concerns over academic integrity and equitable access.
Assessing the automation of tasks, workforce re-skilling, and the future of work from an empirical and conceptual perspective.
Investigating the interplay between AI-driven companionship tools, family life, and interpersonal connections, and the accompanying ethical and legal concerns.
Charting AI’s transformative effect on commercial and industry practices, from new value chains to corporate accountability.
Addressing governance processes, public administration, electoral processes, AI-enhanced surveillance, and the importance of democratic safeguards.
Exploring AI’s use in modern warfare, cyber-threats, and conflict prevention, raising pressing moral and strategic questions.
Reflecting on how AI challenges creative processes, shifts cultural norms, and redefines notions of authorship and creation.
Critically assessing the impact, but also the potential of AI for the majority world beyond Europe and North America, with a focus on (in)equality, power dynamics, as well as socioeconomic and environmental consequences.
How you can get involved
We look forward to welcoming further perspectives that will shape the study and governance of AI for years to come. In launching AI in Society, we invite academics, policymakers, and practitioners to propose new topics and article ideas that extend the dialogue.
The work remains an open platform for innovative scholarship, especially regarding regions or subfields not yet widely represented in mainstream AI research. By nurturing interdisciplinary collaboration, we aim to involve a broader network of individuals—including those from emerging economies and underexplored disciplinary backgrounds—in shaping the critical debate on ethical and regulatory standards and the socioeconomic impact of ongoing technological advances.
To contribute, please reach out to us here.
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